This past week, I have been in Sorrento Centre – an Anglican Retreat and Conference Centre on the shores of the Shuswap Lake. I have been orienting and training the four 4-month staff, a group of young people who will be working there this summer, offering leadership as part of Sorrento’s Summer Youth Staff team.

They are wonderful – interesting, insightful, creative, compassionate, and so funny. It has been a gift to see them already starting to form into a community and begin learning about who they are and their gifts. It fills me with excitement and hope - it is going to be a fabulous summer.

I have worked at the Sorrento Centre for many summers over the years, and those experiences have been transformative for me. It is truly hard to imagine if I would be who I am or where I am without them.

Being back here in this role reminds me that places like Sorrento Centre really matter. People of all ages need these ‘other’ spaces to get away to, for a time, whether it be a day, a week, or an entire summer. In these places that are set apart for deep community, contemplation, recreation, rest, play and prayer, we can often more easily grow in the knowledge and love of God, others, and ourselves. In these spaces, we can experience transformation, learning, healing, belonging and growth in ways that can be harder to come by in our everyday lives.

This week, for Sorrento Centre, this place and community, and for all other places and communities like it, I pray a heartfelt…

Thanks be to God!



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